Paper money collecting is a specialty in numismatics. It not only consists of currencies, but also entails a variety of notes, which many may not think of collecting, or think of as currency. For instance, checks, both canceled and uncancelled, by private banks and local, city, state, and federal. Notes that never circulated, but are nevertheless collectible, and available somewhere, like $10,000.00 notes. $500.00 and $1,000.00 notes at one time did circulate but are no longer used in circulation since around 1970.

If banks get them, they will accept them at par, but a collector will give you MORE than face value, so why would you want to cash them in at a bank? Paper money collecting can consist of bonds, stocks, railroad certificates, and certificates of deposits, similar to gold certificate currency and silver certificate currency. Your Certificate of Live Birth is a Bond. Bet you don’t have YOURS.

My understanding is it is controlled by the IMF traded on the Stock Exchange and is worth millions. The question is: How do you get it returned to YOU? Its rightful recipient. But that’s another story for later. There exist bank notes of states only, not issued by the federal government. Colonial notes of the 1700’s. Confederate notes. Notes signed by specific officials of the banks or governments. Hand-signed notes.
Notes collected by serial number or federal reserve districts, etc. The collecting issues can be as varied as coin collecting. Some collectors collect by country only, specific denominations only, large-size notes, small-size notes, notes with a particular artwork, and commemorative issues. Variety and error notes (notes with printing errors on them, like two different denominations imprinted).

Disney Dollars are very collectible, and some world notes are made of new material called Polymer Notes with many new security features. If paper money collecting interests, there are specialty clubs just for paper. Even though there will be many paper money collectors in your local coin clubs. There is a magazine calledBank Note Reporter’ which paper money enthusiasts subscribe to, and an international organization called IBNS. The International Bank Note Society.

A noted collector learns about grading, counterfeit detection, and alteration and joins clubs to get around other enthusiasts to learn more about their mutual interests. You can go to coin clubs and coin shows to buy, sell trade, and expand your knowledge and skills. Download the PDF-“An Introduction to Van Court’s Bank Note Reporter and Counterfeit Detection”. Start your adventure. You will only learn. Happy hunting. Contributed by Judy K. Santa Monica, CA.

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1. You are collecting because you like it.
   You may be interested in history, art, metallurgy, economics, or types of money people use as units for an exchange of value. You can collect based on the subject. You may like coins related to animals, flags, or a specific subject matter.
   You may collect by country of origin. From a specific era. Coins of the BC era or early AD. Colonial coins of the U.S. or Canada. You may collect European, Australian, or Mexican coins or South American issues. Collect according to ruling governments. There are myriads of collecting subjects and specialties you can pursue. You may collect only coins found in circulation.

Oddities and errors and varieties that strike your fancy. Whatever your endeavor it is because you like them, and it interests you. You may collect square coins or coins with holes in them. You may collect by type and year or mintmark. You can collect transportation tokens, tax tokens, bank tokens, and privately minted medals. As you can see the subject range is enormous and you are doing it because you like it and learn from it. Whatever piques your imagination.

2. So, how do you find coins, other than your own country and in circulation, other than traveling? Join a coin club in your area. So, how do you find a club? They don’t advertise, and your local coin shop is not going to tell you about them. Go to the American Numismatic Association (ANA) website, click on ANA Clubs, then click on your state. A list of all the ANA clubs in that state will appear and you find one nearest where you can attend. Some are free, some have dues which may be a whole $10 per year. Most meet once a month.
3. Attend Coin Shows. At the coin clubs, you will not only learn about coins & and currency, but you will also find out about your local and national coin shows. There is often one show every week in the US, all year long. At the clubs and shows, you can buy, sell, and trade and get free appraisals and invaluable information about what your interests are. Clubs and shows have speakers which may cover any subject relevant to numismatics.

Such as grading, (Download the FREE Grading PDF in the shopping cart at Tozan.com), counterfeit detection, and how coins and currency are manufactured and printed. Speakers can range from numismatic specialists to speakers from the US Mint, or the secret service.

Speakers give presentations on the history and background of the coins and mint engravers, even speakers talk about the much controversial cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Blockchain technology. Ask anything you want to know about numismatics and there is someone who knows, or someone who knows who knows!

4. Subscribe to Coin Magazines or online publications. Some online publications are free. You can get complimentary magazines at clubs and shows. Get books on the subjects that are your interest. There is Coin World, Numismatic News, The Numismatist, Bank Note Reporter, and World Coin News. All US publications. There is Canadian Coin News, Coin News Magazine in the U.K., and The Austral-Asian Coin & Banknote magazine in Australia.
5. Collecting vs. Investing. As your interest grows. Know the difference between collecting and investing and look within yourself to know your objectives. Fun is good, collecting is fun, but know yourself that, you do not want your fun and collecting to cost you more than you thought. Read books, speak to people, look at a lot of coins. Gain knowledge and understanding, and with action, turn that into wisdom (The Trivium) and share your knowledge and interest with others. Article by Lou C. -Highlands Ranch, CO.

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Yes. You can purchase coins directly from the US Mint. Many folks do not know that you can order your coins directly from the US Mint. Now, there are a few caveats.

1. On certain items there is a limit to the amount of a specific item you can purchase.
2. You can only order coins and sets specific to the present year. For instance. This year is 2015. Therefore, you can only order 2015 Proof American Eagles, or2015 American Gold Buffalos, or 2015 mint sets or proof sets.

You cannot order a 1967 Special Mint Set or a 1997 Prestige Set. If you want those or anything existing outside of the present year, you will get it on the secondary market, not from the mint.

3. Some items, like a 2015 monster box of American Silver Eagles from the San Francisco branch mint or West Point branch mint (500 coins) you cannot get directly from the mint, as those are only sold to certain major distributors of the mint, so you will have to order that monster box from one of the mint distributors or the distributor’s dealers.

But, in some instances, you can order hundreds or even thousands of certain items directly from the mint, should they have them available. You can get on the mailing list of the US Mint, and they will send you updates on their new products and surplus items available for order. You can do that on their website www.usmint.gov and even place your orders directly from their site if you choose not to do it by mail. by Tom I.-Sheridan, WY.

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